So tell me again what you do with a baby all day!?!?

I know I asked this a few months ago - before Cooper appeared in this world.

It seems like I should be doing SOMETHING with him (I mean more than feeding / diapering him.)

He  has awake spells that last from 1 - 3 hours several times a day and then sorta-awake spells for 20 minutes here and there. 

In the longer awake spells I try to talk to him, show him things, etc but for 3 hours I get mighty tired -- and there is so much housework, etc to do! 

He is just over 2 weeks.... what SHOULD I be doing with him???  I tried reading to him, but he doesn't seem to focus on the book.  I showed him his room and toys and he doesn't seem too interested.  I carry him in my pouch if I am making dinner / cleaning up so he can watch. 

How many hours a day do you spend talking/reading to your infant?  What else do you do with them?

I feel guilty if I just let him lay in the playpen/swing/bouncy seat when he's awake !!

Thanks in advance!

Cindy

Just love him and kiss him and give him any attention. That is all he "needs" right now.  You will have to have time for yourself too! 

Hugs!

At this age, you don't need to do anything. You do the basics. Also just holding and talking to him and making eye contact is good. I like to place Jantzen in his crib, or in bouncy chair for about 15-20 minutes while he is awake.

I do this to help him realize he doesn't always have to be held while awake. With 4 kids, it's impossible to hold him the entire time he is awake, so I have made it a point from the beginning to have him do "alone" time with a mobile, or music playing.

I did this with Riley and it made it easier to put her in her activity center, or bumbo while I was doing dishes or folding wash.....and she didn't flip out about it.

But mostly......at this point, talk alot, sing and make eye contact.

I let my son lay in a play mat... you know with the little toys hanging over his head... he liked lootking at it or would grab it... and sucking on a couple of the animals that were hanging... :-) (that was when he was a LITTLE older.. lol)... I had my 2 1/2 yr old step son at the time (im divorced now) so I couldnt just sit looking at him... lol... that what I did with him.   Dont know what Im gonna do with this new one coming... feels like FOREVER since I was pregnant or had a newborn... will be 27 when this baby is born and I was 21 when I had my son... which seems like a lifetime ago.. lol (I was a couple weeks from being 22... hehe)
  So besides the play mat... I dont remember what I did with him... except the swing.



BTW... he is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Cindy

I had the same question. I drove myself nuts thinking that I should be entertaining her more. I went stir crazy thinking I was a bad mom because she didnt really do anything and I kind of sat around twiddling my thumbs. Just take a rest, hold him, rub his head, talk to him (that was hard for me because they dont respond or give you any feed back). Just smile and relax (and I will remember my advice when I am at home with my newborn).

Vanessa

Oh sweetie, I went through the same thing.  You get all excited to have a little baby to teach things and play with and talk to and then when they are born they really aren't any fun LOL  Put him in a bouncer or a swing and turn some music on and let him just relax.  Libby loved music or baby einstein to listen to.  Don't feel bad for doing that while you get your house work done or just some relaxing time with your feet up.  Before long you won't have time to relax! 

Talk to him, kiss him, and just spoil him in general.  With Hannah I rarely put her down when she was awake.  Now at almost 17 months she still thinks my only job on earth is to entertain her.  She gets so mad when I try to do housework or anything that doesn't directly involve her.  So I would suggest letting him get used to entertaining himself for a few minutes at a time.
He is such a cutie!
Amy

Your doing great! When they are newborns they just want to be fed, changed and cuddled. I wear my kids in a moby or other sling and go about my business, whether it be house cleaning, grocery shopping or a class at the college. Maybe it's just me but my kids don't cry hardly if ever. I can nurse them discreetly and having them in a carrier leaves both hands free for dishes or folding laundry etc... I can still make eye contact, sing, talk and get things done. Mommy multi-tasking at it's best in my opinion.

He is so cute!

~Joyce (Mom to 6 soon to be 7 Blessings)

You know, it's funny---i think every new mom goes through that same dilemma but few have the humility to express it.  I think we feel bad, like we should be doing more.  But babies are so simple really.  If there is food in their belly, their butt is dry, they are healthy, and somebody loves them, their world is absolutely as perfect as it can get.  You're doing everything right.  Except I don't think I'd have the baby with me when I'm cooking, but I'm hoping you mean the baby is out of the way, not actually between you and a hot stove. 
It's funny you asked this because you'll see as Cooper gets older (and by the way, that is a wonderful picture, he is gorgeous!!!) that Cooper's world will expand.  Sometimes I find myself going, "Oh yeah, Sophie has changed a lot, and might like watching Baby Einstein now.  I should put that on for her."  Or, "I haven't tried a book in a week.  Let me see what kind of reaction I get with that."  And I will get a totally different reaction because they change all the time.  So just when I start to feel A) in a rut and B) like I've got her all figured out, she goes and turns everything around all over again.  Ain't bein a mom grand?  

You are too funny...I went thru the SAME thing!  We adopted our first and he came home at 8 months old...I was always sad that I missed his 'baby stage'.  YEAH RIGHT...after having Kellen I realized that the baby stage was WAY over-rated!  LOL!  They don't do anything but eat, poop, sleep.  Oh, and sometimes barf.  If the twins would just come out at 8 months old, that would be PERFECT!  :-)

Sandy